


Just for tonight

by Melacka



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Episode: s03e20 The Prom, F/M, Light Angst, Longing, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-14 17:03:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16496663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melacka/pseuds/Melacka
Summary: Buffy knew that they were treading dangerous ground here. She knew that there were lines they couldn’t cross, especially with their future so uncertain.After their dance in The Prom, Angel and Buffy spend one more night together.





	Just for tonight

When the last notes of the song faded away, Buffy and Angel stopped their slow, swaying dance, but didn’t move apart. Buffy listened to the disappointed hum of sound from the other students at the announcement that there would only be one more song that night. She sighed and stepped back, looking up at Angel with a tremulous smile.

“Thanks for the dance,” she said.

Angel didn’t say anything, just held out his hand. A fast song started playing, they were clearly looking to end the night on a high note. Buffy looked sceptically at Angel’s outstretched hand.

“Dance with me?”

Throwing caution to the wind, Buffy took his hand and stepped gratefully back into his embrace. She wasn’t ready for the night to be over yet.

“One more time, Buffy,” Angel said quietly. “Just one more.”

She lay her head against his shoulder again and allowed him to lead her in an unhurried sway, oblivious to the high-paced, exuberant mass of humanity around them.

“One more time,” she murmured contentedly.

It seemed mere moments had passed when the music suddenly stopped and the lights were switched back on. Buffy could hear the sounds of disappointment and annoyance around her as everyone blinked dazedly in the light. She didn’t know what to do now, didn’t know if Angel would disappear just as suddenly as he had appeared. Would he just melt into the night without a word? It would be the first time, after all.

“So,” she began awkwardly, “thanks for coming.”

She cringed inwardly at this. When had it become so hard to talk to Angel?

“My pleasure,” he said, ignoring the obvious tension building between them. “Can I see you home?”

Buffy grinned at him in sudden amusement and he quirked a smile back.

“Sure,” she said. “You never know what might be lurking around out there.”

After exchanging hurried goodbyes with her friends and determinedly ignoring the concerned look from Giles, Buffy followed Angel through the dark school and out to the parking lot. A lot of the other students were looking surreptitious as they got into their cars, as if they were off on some important business that no one else knew about. Buffy tried to ignore them. When that didn’t work, she tried to be happy for them, but the best she could manage was a vague wish that they all survived the night. You really never knew in Sunnydale and she didn’t feel like doing any more slaying tonight.

Buffy’s mouth dropped open in shock when Angel stopped in front of a black convertible. He smirked slightly at her reaction, clearly pleased with himself.

“You really went all out, huh?” Buffy said as Angel opened the passenger door for her. “The tux, the car, the perfectly-timed walk through the crowd.”

“I wanted to give you the full experience,” he said seriously. “I’ve never been to prom but I’m pretty familiar with what’s involved.”

“The full experience?” she said wistfully, stepping up to him and putting her hand on the door.

“As close as we can get it.”

She drew in a shaky breath and smiled up at him.

“Okay,” she said. “let’s go.”

She sat in the car carefully and tried to compose herself as Angel closed the passenger door and scooted around the car. When he sat down, she tried to suppress the feeling of impending loss and instead focussed on the fact that he had turned up. He was there. Even if just for tonight, he was there. She was going to do her best to forget about tomorrow.

Luckily, she had plenty of things to distract her. She let her eyes wander over him as he started the car, admiring his strong, lean body in the tux. He eased the car out of parking lot, focused intently on the road with so many excited teenagers around.

“You know, this isn’t how I imagined it,” she said a few moments later.

“Imagined what?”

“This. Us. Prom.” Buffy gestured vaguely. “The car. The dance.”

“You imagined it?” he said gently.

“Only about a million times. It’s about the only thing I could still hope—” She stopped talking abruptly, aware that she was veering into dangerous territory. She cleared her throat awkwardly. “Anyway, where’d you get the car?”

Angel accepted the change of subject without challenge and merely said, “I bought it a while ago. I thought it might be useful to have something to get around.”

Buffy sensed the unspoken addition to this sentence. He needed something to get him out of town.

“So, you weren’t using it to pick up?” Buffy joked feebly, desperate for something sufficiently neutral to say.

“Pick up?”

“Girls. Women.” She laughed at his bemused expression. “This car is a serious babe magnet.”

“There’s only one woman I—”

It was Angel’s turn to break off uncomfortably. The both stared straight ahead without speaking for a moment.

“Where are we going?” Buffy said, more for the sake of conversation than anything else. As long as he wasn’t taking her to the one of the many fine cemeteries Sunnydale had to offer, she was happy.

“I thought we could head towards the beach,” Angel said, glancing at her briefly to gauge her reaction. “Go for a stroll.”

“A moonlight stroll, huh? How romantic.”

“Well, daytime strolls are a little difficult for me.”

“It might be a little crowded,” Buffy warned. “Lot of kids might be heading there.”

“Would you rather go somewhere else? We could go for coffee or something.”

“How about your place?” she said nervously. “Just so we don’t have to worry about other people a-and coffee makes you so jittery.”

“Of course,” Angel said simply after a pause. “Privacy is just what we need.”

“It is?”

“Yes. Besides, you’re not really dressed for a walk along the sand.”

“You could’ve carried me.”

“I still could.”

Buffy’s head whipped around to look at him in shock.

“Huh?”

“We’re here.”

He stopped the car and got out quickly, not giving her a chance to respond. She watched him, still a little dazed, as he came up to her door again. He opened it and offered her his hand.

“Think I need help getting out of a car as well?” she said sarcastically, smiling at him to show that she wasn’t really bothered.

“Not exactly.”

She took his hand and allowed him to help her out of the car anyway, feeling surprisingly girlish and dainty for once. He closed the door and, without another word, swept her off her feet, cradling her easily in his arms.

“Angel!” she cried.

“The full experience,” he murmured as he started a leisurely stroll towards the mansion.

“I don’t think this is normally part of the full experience,” she said, laughing.

He didn’t reply as stepped into the building, just silently deposited her on the sofa. She kicked her shoes off gratefully as he moved around the room, lighting a fire and setting up candles.

“I have food, if you’re hungry,” he said as he sat down next to her.

“Maybe later,” she said vaguely, rubbing at her sore feet. “I just want to sit for a minute.”

“May I?” Angel said, touching one of her feet lightly. Buffy nodded her approval and leaned back more comfortably against the cushions. “Tell me about tonight.”

“What about tonight?”

“You killed the demon?”

“Yeah,” Buffy moaned as Angel’s hands massaged her feet determinedly. “I fought, I kicked ass, I won a sparkly prize.”

“A sparkly prize?” Angel said in surprise, temporarily halting the movement of his hands. “For slaying?”

“Something like that,” she said dismissively. “Don’t stop!”

He started kneading her feet again and she groaned her approval. After a few moments, Angel’s hands drifted slightly upward to massage her calves. And then they travelled even further until they reached her thighs. When his fingers grazed her underwear, she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Angel,” she gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Please, Buffy,” he said. “Just for tonight.”

His fingers continued to draw teasing circles on her underwear as she gazed at him, wide-eyed.

“Just for tonight?” she echoed.

Buffy knew that they were treading dangerous ground here. She knew that there were lines they couldn’t cross, especially with their future so uncertain.

“The full experience,” he whispered, lifting her dress up slightly and encouraging her to spread her legs.

“The _full_ experience?”

“As close as we can get,” he said regretfully.

She still looked uncertain.

“Just for tonight,” he said again. “Please, just for tonight.”

Tomorrow, they’d have to go back to their real lives. They’d most likely have to pretend that this night never even happened. But that was tomorrow’s problem. Just for tonight, she was going to try for the normal experience. Just for tonight, she was going to let herself remember how much she loved him.

“Yes,” she said, as he dipped his head to kiss her thigh. “Just for tonight.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, that was my first ever Buffy fic. Buffy is my first fandom love and I have been reading BtVS fanfic for more than 15 years without taking the plunge!
> 
> Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read/leave kudos/comment. And a special thanks to the organisers of the IWRY marathon for helping keep the B/A side of the fandom alive.


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